Summer soother: a cold avocado soup
My first summer in Washington, I was fairly miserable. I lived barely 10 blocks from work, but what had been a 12-minute walk in the wintertime slowed to a 20-minute slog come June and July as I tried to avoid arriving at work drenched. My second summer, things improved a bit when I discovered the magic of alleyways and explored routes to find maximum shade. Even so, after walking home at the end of the day, the last meal I wanted to make was anything heavy and hot.
Now, my commute involves 20 minutes in the relative comfort of an airconditioned (electric!) car, but I still have an appetite for lighter, quicker meals. It’s not just about avoiding heating up my kitchen with the stove top or oven; I also don’t want to weigh myself down.
Cold soups come to the rescue every year. When I’ve got peak tomatoes from the garden or market, it’s gazpacho time, but when I don’t, I turn to something like Anna Jones’ avocado, cucumber and fennel soup. The prep involves merely cutting those three primary ingredients enough to stuff them into a blender, where you puree them with a little yogurt, lemon juice, ice and water. The jazz comes from garnishes of jalapeno, dill, basil and pumpkin seeds, all of which add pops of flavor and texture to the soothing, cooling, refreshing soup.
It’s simple to make. So simple that whether you’re ambling home through the heat or just trying to make it from one form of air conditioning to another, you can handle it.